President Donald Trump said on Jan. 29 that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are not leaving Minnesota, however, his border czar, Tom Homan, described plans to eventually reduce their presence after recent unrest around the state.
Homan was sent to Minnesota earlier this week after the fatal shootings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents. Agent Jonathon Ross shot Good in the head on Jan. 4 as tensions unfolded on the snowy streets of Minneapolis.
Several witnesses at the scene said that 37-year-old Renée Good was trying to leave the area after an altercation on Jan. 7, but Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accused Good of trying to injure Ross with her vehicle. She was later reportedly taken to the hospital for treatment.
In addition, Noem also said that the second victim, Alex Pretti, was targeted after allegedly brandishing a gun. Pretti’s family disputed that account, saying the nurse’s legally owned firearm had been removed before the shooting.
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Both Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti were U.S. citizens with no criminal record. The Trump administration’s mass deportation policy initially aimed to target illegal immigrants with a history of crime in 2025, but a year later, the operation had allegedly become a tool to ” terrorize,” abuse and detain people without prior notice.
According to The Independent, Tom Homan argued that giving immigration officials greater access to local jails would reduce the need for agents patrolling neighborhoods.
“This is common-sense cooperation that allows us to draw down on the number of people we have here. Yes, I said it: draw down the number of people here because we have the efficiency, the safety of the jails and the prisons,” he added.
BREAKING: President Trump was asked tonight, “Will you be pulling ICE back from Minnesota?”
President Trump: “No, no not at all!”
Hell yeah! pic.twitter.com/Ki052HLMnE
— Kim “Katie” USA (@KimKatieUSA) January 30, 2026
However, later that day, President Donald Trump rejected the idea that agents were being pulled out of the state. Asked directly whether ICE was leaving Minnesota, he replied, “No, no. Not at all.”
Homan’s involvement comes amid growing backlash over the Trump administration’s handling of the two shootings. The ICE killings have sparked a broader backlash among Democratic lawmakers, many of whom are now demanding accountability at the highest levels of the department.
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Protests have broken out beyond Minneapolis at this point, with several states like Utah and Texas also participating in it. Thousands have gathered on the streets as the U.S. was grappling with a dangerous winter storm in several cities marked by massive snowfall, deep freeze and strong gushes of wind.
As many people vouch their hopes on Homan, he said that if federal agents can pick up the “worst of the worst” directly from secure facilities, they won’t need to conduct as many street operations. According to AOL, this approach might reduce both risk and the likelihood of detaining lower-level offenders they might otherwise encounter.
Meanwhile, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Governor Tim Walz, and Attorney General Keith Ellison have further claimed that state prisons and local jails will begin turning over criminal illegal immigrants to ICE instead of releasing them back into the community.
Apart from three leaders, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has also called out the insensitive approach of DHS and ICE agents. The 84-year-old took to X on January 28 to call for the immediate resignation of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller.
Something is deeply wrong with this man. https://t.co/XnPu8R89fc
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) January 28, 2026
“Kristi Noem AND Stephen Miller must go,” he wrote alongside a video condemning the latest ICE actions.
President Donald Trump also faced backlash from California Governor Gavin Newsom after Trump said he felt “worse” about the death of Renee Good than Alex Pretti because Good’s parents were his supporters in an interview wth Fox News.
In response to the bizarre remarks, Newsom said on X, “something is deeply wrong with this man.”
